May 12 LIVE REVIEW: Billie Eilish @ Fremantle Arts Centre

Fremantle Arts Centre was not prepared for what was about to go down as it filled up from the moment the doors opened. BillieEilish holds an incredibly strong fan base and this was evident from the excitement in the air for her When We All Fall AsleepWorld Tour.

Eilish’s brother, FINNEAS, opened the show for her to the delight of the crowd. His soft and serenading yet sassy tunes worked well to ease everyone into the night, whilst preserving their energy for what was to come. The crowd cheered and waved their arms in the air for his latest single, ‘I Lost A Friend’, with his other latest single ‘Claudia’ also being a favourite. The scene was well set by ‘Let’s Fall in Love for the Night’ as the love was definitely in the air for FINNEAS and his brilliant sister.

Quite literally, Fremantle Arts Centre was not prepared for what was about to go down. The venue looked beautiful with the stage surrounded by old buildings and trees, and the open atmosphere worked well during Eilish’s emotion-filled, soulful songs. I found myself, however, feeling like a different venue would have worked better for the huge variety of her music, as super pumped-up and bass-heavy songs fell short of my expectations. Put simply, I didn’t feel like it was loud enough. On top of this, the stage was situated very low and I found that I could not see Billie on stage for a large majority of the night.

With that being said, there is no doubt that at the ripe age of seventeen, Eilish is an absolute superstar and knows how to work a stage. Horror inspired visuals built up the anticipation as she burst out onto the stage with an absurd amount of energy, launching straight into ‘Bad Guy’. By the time the next song ‘My Strange Addiction, was over, the space buns she had been sporting had well and truly been thrown apart. The crowd soaked up every moment as she bounced around on stage like some sort of possessed cartoon character. It was sick.

The background visuals were truly captivating, as every song had its own unique style with a generally hellish theme running throughout. Eilish’s ‘give no f*cks’ attitude came through as she demanded the crowd to “Get the f*ck down” for ‘Copycat’, with “sike bitch” being the trigger to launch back up. Both old and new songs were loved by the young crowd, with ‘Bellyache’ sparking particular excitement, as well as ‘Ocean Eyes’, the song that started it all. At times I found myself convinced that she was lip-syncing due to how incredibly perfect her vocals were, being reassured by the sound of her breathing as she danced on stage (and the fact that every live performance I’ve watched of her online has been flawless).

Towards the end of the evening, Eilish delivered a moving speech to the crowd, telling us all to put down our phones and simply be there and enjoy the moment. The number of phones being held in the air significantly dropped from this moment and the atmosphere took on a more magical feeling. Finishing off on an emotional note and then a high with ‘When the Party’s Over’, followed by ‘Bury a Friend’, I was definitely sad to leave.

Through her performance, it was evident why Billie Eilish, in collaboration with her talented brother FINNEAS, has captivated the attention of the world. Her immense stage presence and maturity as a performer is undoubtedly impressive, inspiring and attracting not only her young fans, but also people from all walks of life.

La Dispute are about to embark on a huge Australian tour that will see them play 15 shows all across the country. The tour will kick off here in WA, with successive shows at Amplifier Bar in Perth and the Newport Hotel in Fremantle on the 5th and 6th of September respectively. We were lucky enough to talk on the phone to drummer and founding member Brad Vander Lugt ahead of these shows. (Banner image by Micala Renee)